Summer Webinars

Saturday 15th May 2021

Book now for our Summer webinar series!

All webinars take place on Saturdays from 11:00 - 12:30, unless otherwise stated.

There is a small fee of £5 for each webinar or if you book for all four webinars, there is a discounted rate of £15. A link to join the webinar will be emailed to all participants on Friday afternoon, before the webinar on Saturday morning. N.B. If you book on Friday evening, we will send you the link on Saturday morning.

All webinars will be recorded and a copy of this recording will be sent out to all participants who have booked, so you can choose whether to join us live or watch later at your leisure.

If you don't receive a link by 30 minutes before a webinar (it's worth checking your spam folder), do get in touch with us.

15 May, Building Voices: The Future Needs YOU! with Professor Martin Ashley and guest panel

Guest panel: Rachel Staunton, Nav Arles, Ian Crawford, Angela Renshaw and Ben Hamilton with video interviews from Ben Sawyer and Don Gillthorpe

The lockdowns have been opportunities for much thought and creative thinking about how we can do things better in the future. Building Voices is a new initiative designed to bring together the experience of teachers and conductors who have inspired hundreds of young people to sing through the adolescent years of voice change. Hear how they have coped during the COVID-19 pandemic, how they are building strong, more resilient youth singing for the future and, most of all, how they can help and support you to become part of the bright new future of vibrant young voices with networking, support and training.

Watch out for more webinars in the Building Voices series later in the year and find out more about the initiative here or on the YouTube Channel here.

22 May, Expecting the unexpected: emotional responses in returning to choir with Liz Garnett and Kate Shipway

We have all experienced a range of feelings as we've dealt with the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now we're on the verge of being able to sing again in person, it is important to acknowledge and prepare for potentially overwhelming emotions when we return to choir.

Join Liz Garnett and Kate Shipway to explore some of the emotional challenges choir members and leaders might come up against, and develop strategies that will help us, individually and collectively, cope with them.

Find out more about Liz Garnett here or visit her website here. Find out more about Kate Shipway here or visit her website here.

12 June, Exploring the process of commissioning with VOCES8

Join Paul Smith, CEO of the VOCES8 Foundation and co-founder of VOCES8 and Artist Manager Robin Tyson as they discuss commissioning new repertoire. From exploring ideas to speaking with composers; the composition process to performing, recording and publishing rights, Paul and Robin will share their experiences and advice for ensembles looking at commissioning a composer.

26th June: Vocal health and wellbeing in the new normal with Jenevora Williams

There will be both excitement and anxiety about returning to singing in person. Some people have not been singing much and need to know how to pace their return, some people will have had illnesses that may be affecting their longer-term health.In this webinar, we'll explore how to pace our return to singing together and consider the new health challenges our singers may face.

Come and Sing with John Rutter
11am - 4.45pm, The Coton Centre, Comberford Road, Tamworth, Staffordshire B79 9AA We're delighted that abcd President, John Rutter, will be leading our Midlands Singing Day! Described as "one of the most influential choral composers of our time", he has recently been awarded Fellowship of The Ivor's Academy (2023) in recognition of his
Sat 13th Apr 2024>
Choral Conducting: An Intermediate Guide
Choral Conducting: An Intermediate Guide Saturday 17th February, Saturday 20th April 2024 9.30am - 4.30pm, St Andrew's Church, Waterloo, London SE1 8LJ Two one-day training events for everyone who has either successfully completed our Initial or Emerging level of training, or those who already have experience of leading a choir regul
Sat 20th Apr 2024>
Leading Singing in Secondary Schools: Get them singing, keep them singing
Twilight training sessions online for anyone working with singers of secondary school age Each session includes 60 minutes of training plus 15 minutes for discussion. Session are held on Zoom, from 5 to 6.15pm, with a link sent out to participants the day before. All sessions are recorded, so you can attend the session live or catch
Mon 6th May 2024 - Wed 31st Jul 2024>